International travel spending on the rise: Visa

Travel spending increased in countries like Brazil, Canada, the US and Mexico in 2012 compared to 2011, says a report by Visa. Photo: AFP/Mark Schwettmann / Shutterstock.com

In a sign that globetrotters are gradually loosening the grip on their wallets, a new report shows that international spending in countries such as Canada, Brazil, Mexico and the US among Visa credit card holders spiked six percent last year compared to 2011.

It’s the second consecutive year that Visa has noted an upward trend in international spending, which increased to $57 billion over 2011 among card holders in North America and Brazil.

The report also found that Japan drew notable interest among card holders from the same quartet of countries, as they boosted tourism spending in the country by an average of 25 percent -- or $948 million last year.

Furthermore, Chinese Visa card holders knocked Britons out of their spot to become the third highest contributor to US tourism spending, shelling out 30 percent more than they did in 2011.

A similar story played out among Visa holders from Africa, who increased their spending in the US by 17 percent, charging $585 million on their cards.

Meanwhile, MasterCard has its own global Destination Cities Index. In its report last year, analysts predicted international visitor numbers to increase by about 6 percent and spending to swell 11 percent among the top 20 destination cities spanning London to Taipei.